I probably should sign up for some Python and SQL courses since I might be able to find a new position faster if I do. But right now I am drinking beers and burning through a Civil War and Reconstruction course via ColumbiaX because I like the lectures and I've got to deal with this anxiety somehow.

I've done programming classes on a few different MOOC platforms, and I thought Udacity was by far the best. Not as many courses as some of the others, but they've got several Python ones. (Read the course descriptions carefully -- there are a few different ones labeled as "beginner," but one of them is actually an introduction to Python (where you can pretty safely skip the first section if you've programmed in any other language before), while another one is an intro to OOP through Python, which assumes you already know the basic syntax and everything.)

K's birthday month is super taxing. In part because she thought legoland as a family gift would be fun. And it is fun, but sometimes it is too much fun. Grace melted down at a ride and lost her trache cap which is bad. We have an extra because it's an industrial part that Lori got which is good (so they cost $.79 a piece for the Rover but through health insurance it's closer to $200 each).

home with a million things to do and tomorrow is my last day at my current school. Blargh.

it's an industrial part that Lori got

The appalling cost disparity aside, having a Rover cap is pretty cool.

Helps to have a NASA engineer in the family?

I'll help move shit! Do dishes! Kidsit! 3 more damned days in which my bosses try to engage me and I'm all 'see you in December, here is the backup plan. Good luck with the testing!' And jfc, cold winds, get me to LA.

I've done programming classes on a few different MOOC platforms, and I thought Udacity was by far the best.

Thanks for the rec, Hil.

good luck with the job sitch, shrift. (::quietly shakes pompoms for the possible move west::)

I had a less than productive day, since my work computer turned up as dead as a Norwegian parrot when I got in. And I got in late because I had to take TNG to the vet for more tests. Happily, the tests reveal no more cancer outside of the one tumor, so they're going to take it out tomorrow and hopefully that will be the end of it. (Depends on the results of the surgery and whether they can be sure they got it all.)

Down side: I have so many non-work obligations this week because of dog and Dad that I'm going to have to work on my day off on Friday. Bah.

OTOH, my oldest niece landed a permanent full-time job at the nonprofit she'd just been laid off from (but now on the policy side rather than the political campaign side), so that's good news.

Arrived home today to discover that Dad had ordered a Bose Wave soundsystem for me. What?

shrift, what exactly do you do?

The biggest component of my anxiety is worrying that I'll be unemployed in a few years and wont't be able to find a good job due to age discrimination in the programming industry. Perhaps I'm more anxious than I need to be but anxiety isn't logical.

What I know can help my anxiety is for me to stop trying to ignore the issue and instead finding out what my options might actually be.

So, um... yeah, I should get on that.

Also, SQL is easy. (At least it is for me.)

I'm glad you had good health news for your dog, Consuela.

If I lose my job here, I'll check around various insurance companies that use our product and ask what they'll pay for someone who has done tech support for the damned thing. I've gotten lots of "If you lived here I'd hire you!" remarks.

shrift, what exactly do you do?

Good question. I used to be in Trust & Safety, basically, and now I'm in online advertising policy. I want to get back into Trust & Safety. I'm considering a move west to Silicon Valley (::shakes pompoms back at Consuela::) because that's where those jobs tend to be.

What I know can help my anxiety is for me to stop trying to ignore the issue and instead finding out what my options might actually be.

Ha ha, if you're like me, prepare for a temporary increase in your anxiety when you actually start finding out what your options are, because then you have to figure out what to do with your life. My anxiety generally drops after I've made a decision, but I'm in the limbo between realizing you need a new job and actually getting a new job.

Also, SQL is easy. (At least it is for me.)

Yeah, I've messed around with it and Python a bit and can make thinks work, but I can't say I'm strong in it.